Present for 4yo girl, into bugs, butterflies

[niccig]

I need a present for our 4 yo goddaughter. She loves bugs, butterflies, and hedgehogs. They are like family to us.

Any ideas?
Thanks, Nicci

[citymama]

Sounds like my DD! I don't know what your budget is. If she likes hedgehogs, make sure she has a copy of Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle" about a little girl and a hedgehog. We love that here.

For an amateur naturalist, here are some other thoughts:
-- kid binoculars (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=children%27s+binoculars&x=0&y=0)
-- bird feeder
-- bug collection kit (http://www.discoverthis.com/bug-barn.html)
-- live butterfly garden (http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-4100192-Butterfly-Pavilion/dp/B00004U5UF) - they have this at DD's school and she LOVES this. requires parental supervision, but not a whole lot of work, plus she can re-use this several times to follow a butterfly's life cycle. could get the cheaper version (http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-1010-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=pd_bxgy_t_text_c) and a book about butterflies' life cycles to go with it.
-- subscription to National Geographic Kids or Ladybug magazine.


Happy shopping!

[bubbaray]

Target had a bunch of kids gardening stuff -- gloves, rainboots, tools, etc in themes. That would be cute, along with some books. i'm pretty sure there is a hedgehog Webkin too.

[niccig]

THanks for the great ideas. They already have a butterfly tent, it's big enough that they can sit in it. I did notice on that page that you can send away for ladybug kit, so that could work. Mrs Tiggle-Winks is my favourite story, so I think that and a webkinz will work as well. Bionuclars, garden things would work too - the problem is that they have pretty much EVERYTHING, so getting something for them is always difficult.

[citymama]

THanks for the great ideas. They already have a butterfly tent, it's big enough that they can sit in it. I did notice on that page that you can send away for ladybug kit, so that could work. Mrs Tiggle-Winks is my favourite story, so I think that and a webkinz will work as well. Bionuclars, garden things would work too - the problem is that they have pretty much EVERYTHING, so getting something for them is always difficult.

Just remembered - we got DD the most adorable hedgehog puppet made by Folkmanis. Found it at Borders along with a copy of Mrs. T-W. It's about $17 - SO cute, and you can roll it into a ball like a hedgehog. My DD adores playing Mrs. T-W with the puppet and pretending to be Lucy! Also available online at amazon.com here (http://www.amazon.com/Folkmanis-2192-Hedgehog-Hand-Puppet/dp/B0007QO47C).

I agree - if she has so much naturalist-y stuff, then don't duplicate - go hedgehog! All the Beatrix Potter books are super for animal-mad kids.

[Percycat]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008ELWYG

If you want to do a Ladybug theme, we love this game. It is one of our "go to" gifts for three and four year olds.

You could pair it with a Ladybug Girl book, like:
http://www.amazon.com/Ladybug-Girl-Bumblebee-David-Soman/dp/0803733399/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243544349&sr=1-12

If she has an older brother, she might connect with the first Ladybug Girl book:
http://www.amazon.com/Ladybug-Girl-Jacky-Davis/dp/0803731957/ref=bxgy_cc_b_img_b

[CiderLogan]

I second the Ladybug Game and Ladybug Girl book recommendations. The game in particular references a lot of other bugs too (preying mantis, aphids), so she may like that. Or how about a Timex ladybug watch? My DD has one and loves it.

[rlu]

I think marbles are generally for 5 year olds, but I found these pretty butterfly ones on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MARBLES-NEW-SERIES-ARTIST-MARBLES-BUTTERFLIES-BLOOMS_W0QQitemZ110395433647QQihZ001QQcategoryZ236 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

eta: this is really expensive for the number of marbles you get, but as a present for a kid who has almost everything, it might be worth it for the wow factor. For price reference, you can buy a bag of 50 marbles for $2 at Rite Aid.

DS also enjoys the Potter stories, and we just read the hedgehog story the other day. Howfun!

[nupe]

I just odered a sticker book that is cute. There are several at amazon.

[WatchingThemGrow]

LLB Butterfly lunchbox http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=47982&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&from=SR&feat=sr

matching backpack http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=47984&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&feat=47982-ppxs&dds=y

LE butterfly tankini - dark azure mini dot http://www.landsend.com/pp/ScrunchbackTankini~164059_1186.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::OYX&CM_MERCH=IDX_00004__0000000421&origin=index

[niccig]

Ladies, You have excelled yourselves. I checked with her Mum, and they don't have most of these things. And she said her daughter would love any of them.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions.